Dunno if it's a secret or not, but the fresher the eggs are the harder they are to peel. Put your eggs into a pan of cold salted water and set it on the heat. When it boils, cover the pot and turn the heat off. When the eggs are cool enough to handle put them in cold water until you are ready to peel.

Meanwhile, mix your mayo/onion/spices (whatever) so that you dont shred your eggs trying to mix. Once you're ready, peel the eggs and push them through a mesh cake-rack (mine has a 1/2 inch grid). toss and enjoy

Dunno if it's a secret or not, but the fresher the eggs are the harder they are to peel. Put your eggs into a pan of cold salted water and set it on the heat. When it boils, cover the pot and turn the heat off. When the eggs are cool enough to handle put them in cold water until you are ready to peel.

Meanwhile, mix your mayo/onion/spices (whatever) so that you dont shred your eggs trying to mix. Once you're ready, peel the eggs and push them through a mesh cake-rack (mine has a 1/2 inch grid). toss and enjoy

I KNOW WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS PEELING EGGS!

It's not how fresh the egg is when you peel it, nor is it how you boil it, nor whether you leave a lid on the pan. I prefer not to salt the water, a lot of salt will cause eggs to float, and you don't get that much molal boiling point elevation from it anyway. You can salt your eggs later. Its better for cooking if the eggs stay on the bottom of the pot anyway. for even cooking.

THIS IS THE "SECRET"

1. Start with cold or warm water and do not heat it too fast because that will cause the shells to crack and make messy eggs. (This doesn't affect peeling.) Make sure there is enough water to completely cover the eggs.

2. Let the water boil for the length of time you like. Some people like softer hard boiled egss--15 minutes, some like hard hard boiled eggs--30 minutes. I like them about 20 miniutes on a slow boil.

3. After boiling, pour out the hot water and immediately fill the pot with the coldest ice water you have. Let the eggs cool to room temperature in the ice water. THIS IS THE SECRET!!!!

4. To peel the eggs, simply crack the eggs, and peel the shell off under running water. No whites will stick to the shell and the eggs will be perfectly smooth and beautiful. You can peel eggs immediately, or you can even keep them in the fridge for over a week.

Last edited by GaryProtein on Tue Nov 29, 2011 2:06 am; edited 1 time in total

Taamar: I've made hard boiled eggs this way for years. It always works for me. What part of the method did you disagree with? We each cook the eggs slowly. It seems the main difference is that you let the eggs cool slowly, and I chill them rapidly and peel them after they are cold, under running water. Peeling under running water significantly lowers the surface tension connecting the shell and the whites allowing the eggs to almost fall out of the shell. Is it that you like to use older eggs? I never noticed the age of the eggs to make a difference and eggs don't stay around our house long, because we eat lots of them.

My only disagreement is with your assertion that age doesn't matter. Your method works fine, I've done it that way when I can pay attention to timing, but as a caterer I like to use the self timing 'bring to boil and turn it off' method. No real reason not to use whatever method fits in with your style, so long as you start the eggs in cold water.

With fresher eggs the membrane is tightly attached to both shell and egg, running water doesn't get between them at all (I also live in a drought state..... the idea of wasting that much water makes me cringe). Most eggs you get at the supermarket are past this point (at least a week out of the ckicken) but if you live near an egg farm you might get a few that are newer. They are a pain to peel.

Taamar: Since I do not buy eggs from a chicken farm, I confess to not knowing how old eggs are when I bring them home from the store. I have gotten organic eggs at Whole Foods, and even they peel fine. How old could organic eggs at an organic market be? There definitely are regional differences in eggs from different chicken flocks. The shells on the brown organic eggs I sometimes get are stronger, harder to crack shells than the non-organic white shelled eggs, but the eggs always peeled out the same. (I don't really have a preference for organic over non-organic eggs.) Maybe your local chickens have more hemidesmosomes holding the shell to the albumin than chickens near me. Do you let your eggs "age" like wine for a few days before using them hard boiled?

I don't know how it would work, but my boyfriend argues that a squirt of vinegar in the pot will prevent the eggs from cracking. I've never had problems with my eggs cracking and he always makes me do it by his method. It just might be an old trick that he got from his grandmother, but maybe you guys would be able to explain how it could or couldn't work?

I don't know how it would work, but my boyfriend argues that a squirt of vinegar in the pot will prevent the eggs from cracking. I've never had problems with my eggs cracking and he always makes me do it by his method. It just might be an old trick that he got from his grandmother, but maybe you guys would be able to explain how it could or couldn't work?

He probably did get that info from his mother or grandmother, so did I. Vinegar will not prevent the eggs from cracking, but a "squirt" of vinegar or salting the water will stop a cracked egg from making itself look like it is afflicted with a verrucous carcinoma as it boils. Either salt or vinegar in the water will almost immediately congeal the white if it starts to leak out of the shell from a small crack, making the cracked egg, still pleasing to look at.

He probably did get that info from his mother or grandmother, so did I. Vinegar will not prevent the eggs from cracking, but a "squirt" of vinegar or salting the water will stop a cracked egg from making itself look like it is afflicted with a verrucous carcinoma as it boils. Either salt or vinegar in the water will almost immediately congeal the white if it starts to leak out of the shell from a small crack, making the cracked egg, still pleasing to look at.

So it's all a magic act! But, I wonder if it is really dangerous for the eggs to crack while boiling. Should I skip the vinegar all together?

So it's all a magic act! But, I wonder if it is really dangerous for the eggs to crack while boiling. Should I skip the vinegar all together?

Why would it be dangerous for the eggs to crack?

Geeeees. It's only a cracked egg in some water. It sounds like someone has been reading too many "natural food" websites telling them everything is "toxic". There's vinegar in salad dressinig and salt in practically everything. Stop your worrying and live a little.

Geeeees. It's only a cracked egg in some water. It sounds like someone has been reading too many "natural food" websites telling them everything is "toxic". There's vinegar in salad dressinig and salt in practically everything. Stop your worrying and live a little.

You don't have to be so rude. You must note that I was wondering if it could be dangerous. I wondered if the egg had cracked, if it would affect the cooking of the egg.

Yes, I know that there is vinegar in salad dressings... in fact, I eat vinegar on my french fries

Getting back to the topic, the vinegar in the water doesn't actually stop the cracking? So vinegar in the boiling water doesn't count as a potato salad secret?

Geeeees. It's only a cracked egg in some water. It sounds like someone has been reading too many "natural food" websites telling them everything is "toxic". There's vinegar in salad dressinig and salt in practically everything. Stop your worrying and live a little.

You don't have to be so rude. You must note that I was wondering if it could be dangerous. I wondered if the egg had cracked, if it would affect the cooking of the egg.

Yes, I know that there is vinegar in salad dressings... in fact, I eat vinegar on my french fries

Getting back to the topic, the vinegar in the water doesn't actually stop the cracking? So vinegar in the boiling water doesn't count as a potato salad secret?

I apologize. I did not mean to sound rude. I should have stuck in a smiley face, a "LOL" or something. I forgot you can't see my facial expression or voice intonation over the internet.

The vinegar does not stop the egg from cracking. You do that by starting with cold water and slowly heating it to a boil. Rapid heating will cause cracking. The salt or vinegar will only stop the whites from making a mess of the egg. The egg itself cooks normally if it cracks, but without the mess.

You must note that I was wondering if it could be dangerous. I wondered if the egg had cracked, if it would affect the cooking of the egg.

If an egg cracks during cooking it's safe to eat (although it might look weird without some agent like vinegar in the water to keep the whites from streaming out and coagulating into alien tentacles).

If an egg is cracked (that is, not intentionally cracke by you for the purposes of cooking or consumption) prior to cooking, there is a higher risk of salmonella or other bacterial contamination and you should use a different egg.